Astoria-LIC Election Guide: Fraught Senate Race, Congressional Primary

ASTORIA, QUEENS — For the second time this summer, Northwest Queens residents are about to head to the polls to cast votes in a slate of primary elections — including a bitterly-contested race for an open State Senate seat.

Early voting starts Saturday for New York's Aug. 23 primary elections, which feature races for U.S. Congress and State Senate. A state court had struck down the new legislative districts this spring, forcing them to be redrawn and causing an unusual second primary, held weeks after the June races for State Assembly and statewide offices.

In Astoria and Long Island City, two contested races are on the ballot this month. (If you're not sure how to vote, find your poll site and view a sample ballot here.)

Here's what to know about the Democratic primaries in Northwest Queens:

An open seat in State Senate District 59

Update, Aug. 13: Nomiki Konst withdrew from the race on Saturday and endorsed Kristen Gonzalez. Her name will still appear on the ballot, however.

The chaotic redistricting process created a brand-new State Senate district that covers much of Long Island City, Astoria west of Steinway Street and south of Ditmars Boulevard, as well as Greenpoint, Brooklyn and a chunk of Midtown East in Manhattan.

Four candidates are on the ballot in the 59th District: tech worker and Democratic Socialist organizer Kristen Gonzalez, former Queens City Councilmember Elizabeth Crowley, podcaster and political commentator Nomiki Konst, and political aide Michael Corbett. (A fifth candidate, Francoise Olivas, dropped out and endorsed Crowley.)

Gonzalez and Konst are both running as progressives — Gonzalez has called for passing "good cause eviction" legislation to protect renters and aggressive state spending to counteract climate change; Konst is campaigning on goals to guarantee health care for all New Yorkers and expand education funding.

Crowley and Corbett are running with more establishment backing, with some policy overlaps that include calls for community-based policing and stricter gun control laws.

Konst's entry into the race was controversial, with allies of Gonzalez saying she would risk splitting the left-wing vote after Gonzalez had already locked up progressive support in the district. Konst later accused Gonzalez's supporters of threatening her while campaigning — Gonzalez denied that, and said that Konst had unfairly implied that she was not "from" the district.

Notable supporters of Gonzalez include U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Councilmember Tiffany Cabán, State Sen. Michael Gianaris, and the Working Families Party. Crowley's endorsers include Mayor Eric Adams, U.S. Reps. Gregory Meeks and Ritchie Torres, and Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, while Corbett boasts the support of U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney and several Democratic Party clubs. (Konst's website makes no mention of endorsements.)

Unopposed primaries in Senate districts 11, 12

The shapes of Astoria's two other State Senate districts changed significantly during the redistricting process, with incumbent State Sens. Michael Gianaris and Jessica Ramos both losing ground in Astoria while gaining territory in other parts of Queens.

The new Northeast Queens-based District 11 expanded westward to cover Ramos's former territory in Ditmars, and will likely be represented come January by Toby Ann Stavisky, an incumbent Flushing-based Democrat who decided to run in the 11th District.

Gianaris's District 12 expanded south to cover more of Long Island City.

Those changes will go unnoticed in this month's primaries, however: Gianaris and Stavisky are both running unopposed, and Gianaris also has no opponent in the November general election.

Paperboy Prince challenges Velázquez

Nydia Velázquez, a 20-year incumbent whose congressional district has long centered on the Brooklyn waterfront, had her territory radically reshaped during redistricting — now covering much of Astoria, Long Island City, Sunnyside, Ridgewood and Glendale as well as a slice of North Brooklyn.

The progressive lawmaker's sole challenger is Paperboy Prince, the fun-loving Brooklyn rapper who won 4,000 votes in their run for mayor last year. (Prince also challenged Velázquez previously in 2020, winning about 20 percent of the vote.)

As for Western Queens's highest-profile member of Congress, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez will not even be on the ballot, since she faces zero challengers in the Democratic primary. (Two Republicans, Desi Cuellar and Tina Forte, will face off in their own primary this month for a chance to face Ocasio-Cortez in November.)

Correction: this article has been updated to clarify that Toby Ann Stavisky, not John Liu, is running in the new 11th Senate District.